Cookin' Up With Civil Episode 1

Hey everybody like I said a few weeks ago CivilJustus.com is gearing up to bring you constant content from Don Beardo AKA Civil Justus as well as content from other artists and outlets. Cookin' Up With Civil is the latest feature on Civiljustus.com where I let you into my kitchen so you can see the whole creative process. This show is specifically dedicated to my Twitter and Instagram followers who requested that this show happen, so peace y'all. 

For episode 1 Twitter user @BitchPuddingO_o suggested I make Waffle Batter Fried Chicken, and it sounded like an awesome idea so I said why not. We had a few technical difficulties as typical with a Pilot episode. We made it happen though and without further interruptions (unless your wifi is trash) I bring you Cookin' Up with Civil Episode 1 (New Jack Civil).

Songs featured this week are Supreme and Bluenote which will be on my upcoming mixtape The Uncle Billy Tape 2. 

Let us know what you think and if there's anything you'd like to see me make on future episodes. We are going to be adding a lot of variety to this show including interviews and special features and guests. Stay tuned (Make sure you watch in HD to get the Beard in all its awesomeness  haha)

Always Moving Forward. 

-Civil

Fall Photoshoot with Crystal Jade (@illxinstincts )

What's good everybody? Sorry, was on a bit of a hiatus as I locked myself in the lab to work on The Uncle Billy Tape 2, and other features soon to come. With that said we here at AMF are gearing up to hit you with tons of content in the next few weeks. Cookin' Up with Civil will debut  this month, and I have a few tracks I'm going to drop to get you ready for Uncle Billy 2. 

Enough about that though. This post is for the beard lovers out there as I had a great photoshoot with Crystal Jade. Now all of my twitter followers know I hold them down with the beard selfies but you can never go wrong with working with a talented photographer who can create some really beautiful shots. Crystal Jade is on the come up and has an ill vision. I also appreciate how she works to get the shots perfected as she is taking the photo, rather than applying filters in post-production. It brings her photos to life and adds more of a natural look. 

Before getting to the shots, here's a little more about Crystal. 

Crystal Jade is a visual artist who has worked with numerous mediums. From her early work in the realms of sculpture and mixed media to her current concentration in photography, Crystal continues to expand her knowledge and abilities as an artist while leaving room for experimentation along the way. One of her primary goals as creator is to maintain a great level of authenticity when photographing people. Though she uses Adobe Lightroom, Crystal Jade strives to make the editing process as minimal as possible; "If I need to spend more than 15 minutes editing a photo, I probably could have taken a better one to begin with. I'm working with real people. Everyone I choose to work with highlights a part of my vision. Excessively editing a photo to alter someone's appearance isn't necessary when I can find an individual who will have exactly what my vision calls for." Crystal aims to create unique, thought-provoking narratives for her audience in a manner that differs from anything they've viewed before. She is currently working on conceptual pieces and looks forward to sharing them in the near future. 

On to the shots (click the photo to see the rest of the shoot).

 

 

 

I HIGHLY recommend Crystal though her work pretty much speaks for itself. If you're interested in booking or want to check out more of her awesome photos, I've included all of her links below.

instagram.com/illusiveinstincts iinstincts.vsco.com
twitter.com/illxinstincts
illusiveinstincts.wordpress.com (blog and behind-the-scenes info)
info@illusiveinstincts.com
www.illusiveinstincts.com

 

 

-Always Moving Forward

Civil

Civil JustUs AMF-Bushwick Block Party

On July 19th Civil JustUs and AMF worked with the Weirfield Block association to put together a fantastic block party in Civil's hood the Bushwick part of Brooklyn. It was great to see the community come together and have a good time. There were giveaways, tons of food, games, Zumba classes and a special performance by Civil JustUs himself. Its been a busy week here at AMF so we're gonna get right to it and show you some highlights from Civil's performance (footage shot by YungGrandfather) . We still have photos from the block party coming in and we're gonna update the site as we get them here. Brooklyn STAND UP!

Featured Artist: Audrey Dussap

Peace Everybody. We here at Civiljustus.com heavily value the arts. We've showcased my film work here as well as my music, but I feel we definitely need to shine the spotlight on other artists who are doing important work in our community. We envision CivilJustus.com to be a hub of film, music, photography, illustrations, paintings and all types of art, and with that said we will begin to periodically feature these artists. 

Audrey Dussap is the first artist not named Civil JustUs to be featured on this site, and with good reason. I came across her art while following her on twitter and was immediately amazed. Her paintings tell a story of Black women that command ownership of their bodies as well as their lives. There is a love for Black women in Audrey's art, and that is ever so important as society continues to stigmatize and shame Black women, and tries to erase Black women and their experience while monopolizing on their culture. Everyday we see caricatures of Black women and images of stereotypes and self hate. Audrey however speaks to the issues that Black women face while displaying the beauty that is so often mocked and ridiculed (to then be emulated). Her art isn't just limited to Black women though as her works span through a multitude of subjects.

Here's a little more about Audrey Dussap from the artist herself:

"My name is Audrey Dussap, I am 20 years old living in North Lauderdale, Florida. I have been creating artwork since childhood but started sharing / selling it 2 years ago. I believe it was destiny for me to choose this path because my mother, grandfather, and great aunt are all creative and have influenced me in some way with their love for art. I mostly paint using acrylic or oil paint, and my influences and inspirations vary from my family, to my haitian background, to issues that women, more specifically black women face. 

I'm always sketching in my notebooks, and old sketches and doodles often translate to some of my best/favorite pieces. I hope to be able to survive and make a living off of my work while traveling & spreading the artwork. I have learned that consistency is the key to my success." 

Below are some of her works (Emphasis on "some", Audrey puts in work. Everyday she's constantly uploading photos of new paintings.). 

 
Definitely gotta show love to the portrait of the legendary Notorious B.I.G . Brooklyn is always in the house!

Definitely gotta show love to the portrait of the legendary Notorious B.I.G . Brooklyn is always in the house!

 I enjoy how Audrey makes her colors contrast so well and the subjects become so vibrant.

 I enjoy how Audrey makes her colors contrast so well and the subjects become so vibrant.

We look forward to working with Audrey Dussap in the future and possibly collaborating on some projects. Again, this is only a fraction of Audrey's body of work. To see more you can follow her on twitter @audreymarielle and Instagram at "artbyamarielle"

MAKE SURE to check out her website etsy.com/shop/artbyamarielle where she has many of her works for sale.

Also you can contact Audrey Dussap for booking and other inquiries at audreymarielle@gmail.com

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Let us know what you think of Audrey's art. Drop a comment below.

Always moving forward.

Civil JustUs performs at the Legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe for the "A Star in the Making" event

June 22nd I was able to fulfill one of the many dreams I have, and that was to perform at the LEGENDARY Nuyorican Poets Cafe. There is so much history there and I am proud to be able to say that I won the award for "Best Performance" at the "Star in the Making" event at the Nuyorican. This is the first of many and I will surely be back to shut it down again at the Nuyorican. Gotta do it for my Boricuas. Below are some photos and a video of one of the songs I performed. Special thanks to Patrick Ambrose. Brooklyn to L.E.S baby AMF.

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See Through Official Music Video Out Today

I'm excited and pleased to bring you the visual for See Through. This is probably my favorite track off of The Uncle Billy Tape from the sample to my instrumentation. I went with my gut on the track and there's a lot of improvisation from the Lyrics and flow to the actual inspiration. The video isn't like this however. From the moment I finished recording See Through a year ago, I saw this video. I've had this vision in my mind for a year and I am glad that I can bring that to fruition and share this with you. I shot all of the footage, that I'm not performing in, edited and directed this work. This is Civil's vision in the purest form. With that said, once again I'd like to thank the women who were a part of this and helped bring it to the next level. You embody the spirit that I felt when making this song. I hope with this video you, the viewer feel that spirit too. Peace & Let us know what you think of See Through. (Make sure you watch it in HD)

PPM and their effort to stop the CUNY tuition Hikes.

We here at CivilJustus.com are about not only the culture, but also the community that creates this culture. In that focus on culture it is important to acknowledge people who are doing work for this community. The students of The City University of New York (CUNY) have had a long history of community organizing from the 60s in fighting for open admissions, to today where students are organizing against the tuition hikes that have taken effect. This particular issue hits home with me as I am a CUNY alum via Brooklyn College, and it is powerful to see the organizing efforts that are going on to fight back. The People Power Movement is a large part of that right now and have been organizing at campuses throughout CUNY including John Jay, Lehman, City College, Laguardia and are expanding to the other CUNY Campuses.

Last Wednesday, PPM took to the streets and staged a demonstration in front of the Governor's office in Manhattan, where it was intended to hand  Governor Cuomo a petition containing thousands of signatures. It was wonderful to see so many students coming together for a common cause and fighting back. We documented some of the events of that day which I've provided below. (Not the best film work, but you can definitely feel the energy as we got caught up in the movement) 

Jay Espy of People Power provided us with this statement on behalf of PPM:

"On Wednesday, May 7th, 2014, the People Power Movement-Movimiento Poder Popular (PPM-MPP) organized a delegation of students from eight CUNY schools throughout New York City to deliver petitions with a total of 1,883 signatures to New York governor Andrew Cuomo demanding  to stop CUNY tuition hikes now! In addition, PPM-MPP demands that CUNY be free, and that there be  popular control of the CUNY board of trustees giving students the power to vote for the members on that board. This direct action took place in the shadows of a prolonged CUNY struggle rooted in a legacy of student resistance against racist and unjust attacks on education.

Recently in 2011, when Cuomo approved a "rational" tuition policy to increase tuition per year for the next five years, CUNY students mobilized again to stop it. They knew that there's NOTHING rational about charging poor and working class people more for an education that should be free in the first place, all while the rich continue to enjoy tax-free income by exploiting us. And now, this delegation showcased what CUNY students continue to do best: hit the streets! The People Power Movement-Movimiento Poder Popular is organizing to complete an objective left unfinished: to have free quality education controlled by the people of our own communities. PPM-MPP is an anti-racist, poor/working class organization that is dedicated to educating, agitating, and organizing for popular control of the institutions that affect us in order to achieve fundamental social change and obtain a humane society. Education is a right, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! We don't want tuition hikes, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!

For more information on to combat these hikes and/or to find out more on helping out your community you can contact People Power at Facebook.com/2011peoplepower Peoplepowermovement.tumbler  and you can also find the People Power Movement on Twitter, Instagram and Youtube

ALL Power to the People

 

Photos from the See Through Video shoot

Peace everybody. I want to give a special shout to the sisters that came through and built with us at the video shoot for my next single "See Through". Ya'll really helped bring my vision to life.  We had a great building session, got some ILL images AND had a fun time doing it. The official video for See Through will be out soon but in the mean time check out some of the images from our shoot in Fort Greene in my gallery and listen to See Through below.